i've lived in harlem. never seen anybody dance like that. from the cnn world headquarters in atlanta, i'm don lemon. thanks for watching. good night -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >> tonight, harrowing stories from inside that disabled cruise ship. and a sick passenger who was rescued at sea. >> it was hard. it was scary. it was -- oh, my good. >> plus, the other big news this week -- fallen hero. the shocking story of oscar pistorius. did the paralympic superstar murder his covergirl girlfriend? his interview with piers that may surprise you. this is "piers morgan tonight." good evening two stories of triumph of, tragedy, strength and character.

celebrated athlete oscar pistorius is in police custody tonight. the double amputee track star turned national hero stands accused of a horrible crime, the gold-blooded murder of his girlfriend. we begin with the remarkable story of the more than 4,000 people aboard the cruise ship triumph of, stranded at days, adrift at say. martin savage takes us through the ultimate holiday nightmare. >> fun in the sun, that's the promise of the carnival triumph, and with lots to offer, a casino, disco, spa, swimming pools, all you can eat, passengers expected plenty when

departing galveston last thursday. on sunday morning, the moment of crisis. in a flash, a fire breaks out in one of the ship's two engine rooms. a passenger shoots this cell phone video. at first, the thousands aboard don't know the ship is crippled. adrift in the middle of the gulf of mexico. but by day's end, it's obvious this virtual floating city is almost completely powerless with nothing but back-up generators. passengers find themselves without hot water or working toilets, and eventually, without enough to eat. you can hear the desperation in the calls from the ship. >> it takes three and a half hours to get food. the smells -- i can't even describe them. there is sewage, raw sewage. pretty bad. you walk in the hallway, you have to cover your face. we don't have any masks for breathing. >> dead in the water, all anyone at sea or on land can do is wait.

>> actually, the first day i was able to get through to tim, i cried. and one of my friends who was with me got through to her husband, and we cried, too. partly out of fear and frustration because at that point, we still didn't know exactly what had happened and if it would happen again. we still were very in the dark. that was very scary times, and yes, people are starting to lose it a little bit. tempers are flaring. people are being very snippy. >> with no air conditioning, decks turned to tent camps. inside, mattresses line hallways. everywhere, the smell of sewage. >> oh, wow. >> mary's 12-year-old daughter is on that ship with her father. >> i cannot imagine that the horror that they have had to deal with, with no food, lines to go to the bathroom. seeing urine and feces in the hall, sleeping on the floor, nothing to eat. people fighting over food. >> by tuesday, with food supplies dwindling, cell phones

dying, and conditions worsening, carnival's president and ceo apologizes. >> let me assure you that no one here from carnival is happy about the conditions onboard the ship. and we obviously are very, very sorry about what is taking place. there is no question that conditions onboard the ship are very challenging. >> by thursday, passengers say the 1100 crew members onboard are the only thing that staves off mutiny, but as tugboats tug the 100,000 ton boat to land and helicopters however above, mary connects with her daughter. >> i want to tell my mom i love her so much, and i can't wait to see her. >> i love you too, baby. >> but the journey still has one more miserable surprise. as captured in this video, a tow line snaps. >> oh, my gosh. >> after another delay, finally, the last mile into mobile. for the passengers, the carnival

triumph nightmare is over. >> we were all together, and that was what was the most important. and just glad to be alive. >> sorry, carnival, for taking your bathrobe. i did not pay for this, but i figure they owed me. >> with me now is rachel, who because of a medical emergency, was evacuated from the ship days before it reached the shore. rachel, what happened that you needed to be rescued? >> well, i need a kidney, so i needed to do dialysis. and i do it like three times a week. and i had already missed one day on a saturday. and the doctor had said it was okay, but i was supposed to be here on monday. and then tuesday go to a dialysis, when i was supposed to go, but that's when, you know, the boat got caught on fire on sunday. so they had to get the coast guard -- >> yeah, how did you get off the main ship and to medical

attention? what did they do? >> they got the coast guards and transferred me to another boat, another ship. sent me to cozumel to do dialysis on tuesday. >> how was it actually getting onto the tiny vessels? from the view, from the deck of the ship, those are teeny tiny boats. i know they're not when you're in them, but it can't be an easy transfer to get onto those boats. >> it was hard. it was scary. it was -- oh, my god. you know, it was scary the way they put me down. they put me in a rope, and the coast guard said don't worry about it, they would catch me. and you know, they were going to hold me back, and they did. then they transferred me to the bigger boat. and you know, it was good. it was easy to get off on the other boats. >> your sister sophie was supposed to go with you, but as i understand it, that wasn't possible.

why? >> yes, she was supposed to come also, but the water was too choppy. and it was too dangerous for her to cross over. they barely had enough time to take me across the ocean. >> so now i'm seeing the two of you, both in your life preservers. look, you're smiling in the picture, but i can't imagine you were smiling during this ordeal? >> we -- at that time, you know, we were just playing around or whatever. but we didn't know what we were getting into until we got to the door. but we were both supposed to -- we both had our life jackets on and everything so we could get on that boat. we didn't even know -- we thought it was going to be like a chartered bus. a chartered boat. we didn't know it was going to be one of those small ones. and you know, it was scary, you

know, but they tried to take her over and they couldn't. >> when you got to the sister ship of the triumph, and i believe it's called the legend, you were able to once again get from the itty-bitty boat to the larger ship and progress to shore and get treatment. how long did it take before you got your dialysis? >> um, i think they had said eight hours. they said eight hours, then i got to cozumel. they took me to go do my dialysis, then after that, they took me to the airport. and i arrived at 9:00 that evening. >> the compensation, while it may seem like a lot to some, others are complaining. given what you have been through, $500, a free flight home, a refund for your trip, and a credit for another cruise, does that cut it for you, or is that something that's just not going to really assuage the concerns you have for what you have been through? >> um, to me, i'm fine with

that. i'm fine with that. i'm not greedy or anything. i'm fine with that. the crew was good to us. you know, what happened to the ship wasn't the crew's fault or anything or whatever. but you know, i'll take what they give me. >> so what do you think about one of your fellow passengers suing carnival and saying that she suffered all sorts of damages from emotional to physical? >> well, you know, honestly, you know, in spite of what i went through, they were worse than i was. they -- they were the ones, because mine was just the beginning. it happened on sunday morning. and yes, you know, i was suffering a little bit on monday, and then when i got to my dialysis and was home on tuesday, but they were the ones who were more, you know, in pain and suffering, you know.

>> well you are an amazing lady. let me just say having gone through what you went through, being rescued from a ship, being put onto choppy waters by the coast guard and taking to emergency dialysis, only to suggest your fellow passengers had it worse than you, you're awesome. rachel, thanks for being with us. >> thank you. >> they say bad things come in threes. imagine this, stranded on a cruise ship for five days and then taken on a bus that breaks down. only to board a flight that's delayed by yet another power problem. unbelievable. joining me now for an exclusive interview is jacob combs who might be one of the unluckiest travelers you will ever meet. you have had what we like to call in the news business, a hell of a day. >> yeah, you know, it started out nice, sun shiny, thought it was going to work out well, but you know, with all of the problems that come with the ship, to add the plane problems

and the bus problems with it, too, seems pretty par for the course this week. >> what happened to the bus? you were supposed to go to new orleans. it doesn't seem like it was that far away. >> you know, it really wasn't that far away. you would think it probably would have worked out, but basically, we were driving down the road. we're thinking we're going to get in this warm bed. we're going to have a hot shower, a good meal. and he starts pulling over to the side of the road. rattling in the back. he gets out, and a belt's come loose. so we're there for about an hour before we can take off. and we don't get in until 5:00 a.m. you got to smile, you've got to laugh about it when those things come up. >> good for you for having that attitude. i think the majority of the problem licked right there. you get back on the bus, you're back in new orleans. the belt's back on, engine's running. you're on a plane now. and what? >> well, actually, they gave us a different bus, so we were on a whole other one, and we had to wait for it.

but we get on a flight that's supposed to leave at 8:30, and i'm on my phone and not paying attention, and i look down at my watch and it's 9:30, 9:45. an hour and 15 minutes pass from when we're supposed to leave. i couldn't find a stewardess, i didn't know what was going on. when we landed, one of my friends onboard said i can't believe it happened again. she was on the bus. she said it was an electrical problem and it caused the delay. a domino effect, ship wrecked, the bus breaks, and then the plane. >> we've been looking at the pictures you've been taking the last picture, we saw you outside the plane looking like you're having a lot of fun with it. were there some people who weren't quite as positive as you and were really angry after all this? >> you know, i think each person on the ship had a different experience, and that caused certain reactions. i mean, some people had more flooding. some people had more smoke. some people had a really hard

time. maybe they were elderly and couldn't get up the stairs. that justified some of their response. as i have said a couple times, you've got to find a way to be positive in that situation and look on the bright side or it's just going to become even more miserable for yourself and miserable for everyone around. i think that's the kind of policy i decided i was going to live with despite the horrible conditions. and there was lots of positives. the crew was amazing. they helped out hand and foot, all the time. there was nothing to complain about on that side. it's just there was too much to handle. >> so let me ask you this, one of your fellow cruisers named cassie terry, maybe doesn't feel as positive as you do, and she's launched a federal suit against carnival, and she's said that the conditions were horrifying. she was forced to wade through human waste, and she's now suing for physical and emotional harm, including anxiety, nervousness, and this part, the loss of enjoyment of life. do you back her? >> well, i would say i don't know her personally, and if she

really went through all that, that sounds like a horrible experience. i understand from just an empathetic standpoint, if i had to go through that, i would be in maybe some of the states she's in. i personally wouldn't file a lawsuit, but that's my decision. and i don't know her experience. i feel awful for her. i'm sure the crew feels awful for her. so hopefully it can get taken care of in a positive way and things can move on from there. >> you're in galveston now, and you live in irving, and that's not close. somehow you have to get between point a and point b. are you going to use a vehicle of some sort? >> well, i think i'm going to enjoy the sun a little bit right now. you can see it's beautiful out here. i'm going to kick back at the beach, take a deep breath, enjoy the land, and then i probably will have to get in my car and head north. i think my boss will probably want me to come back to work at some point. >> ah. >> i will have to endure another vehicle. hopefully it just doesn't break down.

>> there's always that buzz kill at the end of a vacation, even a bad vacation, that's going back to work. say hello to the people of dallas and irving for us. jacob, great to see you. >> thanks for having me on. >> when we come back, a birthday surprise goes bust. our exclusive with a group of women who thought they would be celebrating rather than struggling at sea. chances are, you're not made of money, so don't overpay for motorcycle insurance. geico, see how much you could save. new griddle-melts to yourime usual breakfast sandwich. a lot more flavor. [ anouncer ] ihop's new griddle melts... made fresh and hot! hand crafted just for you.

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under the heading of it seemed like a good idea at the time, two husbands surprise their wives with cruise tickets to celebrate the 40th birthday, which now none of them is ever going to forget. i'm ashleigh banfield in for piers morgan. joining me for an exclusive interview, birthday girl carey padilla, her mother, her close friend julie morgan and kerry's sister julie pringle all were onboard the carnival triumph of. we can all laugh about this now and say it was the cruise from hell, et cetera, but i want to take you back to the moment where this began with a fire onboard and smoke in the hallways and the ship listing to the side. was there ever a moment when you truly did believe this was an extraordinary danger? >> we have said this before. in the beginning, we thought it was very scary. then i would say within, i don't know, a half hour, an hour, we

realized that our lives weren't in immediate danger anymore, and it was just going to be a matter of figuring out what we were going to do next. >> i think that's what a lot of people have said. they worried and then they didn't. i'm trying to figure out, how did it come to pass that you went from being terrified to being extremely frustrated for a number of days? >> well, i think the lack of information initially, they just kept saying it's a little fire. we don't know. we don't know. so after a point, you just relax because you don't know anything. and what can you do? you're essentially trapped, and you can't change your mind and get off. so you just had to go with the flow. >> i'm looking at some of the pictures and video that have come in to us since everybody has gotten back on dry land and been able to actually establish cell phone power and cell phone service. and you know, it did look kind of scary for a while there. you guys, this was a 40th birthday, big surprise, and all four of you got together. two of your husbands doing this

for you, but there were other passengers with little kids. you must have seen some of that and the way some of those little kids weren't certain they were okay. what was it like? >> the kids had fun. they were running around on the ship. the crew did a lot to play with the kids and have events for them. i think the parents of the children are probably more stressed than the children themselves. >> i was thankful we didn't have our kids with us. >> i'll bet. >> but i had mine. >> this was a 40th birthday for you. i have a little experience in the celebrations of 40th birthdays, and normally, it involves an open bar. but this ship was not really serving a lot of booze. at one point, they did, though, right? characterize for me why some people were upset that the booze started to flow, and other people thought there should have been more? >> i don't think that there should have been more.

>> no. >> again, we know how to handle ourselves, but there's always that group of people that don't, much like the food situation, they take too much. they drink too much and were acting the fool. and you know, we each had one and were done. i think they being the crew intended it to be a nice gesture, and for those of us with sense, it was taken that way. >> some of the pictures i saw of you before all of the disaster started looked like you were having a really good time.

two of your husbands posed for a photograph with carnival's vice president, one of their vice presidents, terry thornton. what was this like? what did he say to you? it's great you had personal contact with him, but what was said? >> i think they were just talking to him, saying hello. they weren't mean to him. they weren't upset.

my husband said they told him they knew carnival was doing everything they can for us and they weren't concerned. they wanted us to come back as soon as possible, and everything was okay. we weren't one of the ones going to come off the ship screaming, and our husbands knew that. >> i think they were trying to tell them we were saying good things. the crew was phenomenal, they were. no fault of theirs at all. >> speaking of the people who run the show, the crew continues to be a theme that each and every passenger has lauded. all i hear is that these were the most incredible people to handle an emergency, and do you think that's why there are fewer people who are really angry getting off that ship? >> absolutely, because you knew you could always find someone. our steward on our floor, even though we didn't stay down there, we went down a few times every day, he was always there, helpful. we could look for him and find him at all times, which made it seem like he was never sleeping,

even though we knew he got short breaks.

even like our waiter in the dining room, we were supposed to

be at during the fun part of the cruise, we found him during the day. so they were always there, helpful, and they answered what questions they could. i know some people got frustrated they couldn't give information, but it wasn't that they were withholding it, they just didn't know. >> i don't know if you had a chance to see some of the coverage, but there were